Received the following message in my bank statment. Any idea what it means? Y2K related?

"Feater River State Bank (California) will be implementing a new account control systemm that will be based on various accounts within the Bank. Effective immediately, the Bank will be making a change in your chekcing accout that will not affect your available balance, interest earnings, if your account is iterest bearing,m FDIC insurance or Bank statement."

"This accounting system for each account will consist of a checking sub account and a savings sub account. The Bank may periodically transfer funds between these two sub accounts. On a 6th transfer during a calendar month, any funds in the savings sub account will be transferred back to the checking sub account. If your account is one on which interest is paid, your interest caluculation will remain the same. Otherwise, the savings sub account will be non-interest bearing. The savings sub account will be governed by the rules governing our other savings accounts."

-- (holycow@mother.com), September 05, 1999

Answers

I think what your bank has created is a type of "sweep" account. Sweep accounts have been created to allow banks to futher minimize the deposits-on-hand stipulations; thus banks can have less vault cash on hand.

-- MMireles (mmireles@hotmail.com), September 05, 1999.

And your "savings account" will have withdrawal restrictions, including perhaps, not allowing you to transfer funds from it to the checking account where you could theoretically write checks for cash.

Cash -- withdraw early and withdraw often.

-- A (A@AisA.com), September 05, 1999.

"The savings sub account will be governed by the rules governing our other savings accounts."

Those are the key words. It's likely the savings accounts are not "demand deposit" accounts like checking, meaning they dont have to give you cash immediately you ask for it, and that they can give you a cashier's check instead.

-- h (q@b.com), September 05, 1999.

Or even worse, they may require that you give them, say, seven days notice before you withdraw money from the savings sub account.

-- Betty (betty@hotmail.com), September 05, 1999.

Holycow, take a look at those threads from the archives discussing sweep accounts.

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000dOq

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000e1Q

-- Chris (%$^&^@pond.com), September 05, 1999.

The uncomfortable feeling in the general vicinity of the rear seam of your pants is the end of the threaded rod.....

Night train

Who ohas worked diligently and received his just reward

-- jes' an ol footballer who recognizes a screw from a bolt (nighttr@in.lane), September 05, 1999.